Thursday, December 27, 2012

Google Talk Reader now implemented and working in A2DP Volume 2.9.1

I think A2DP Volume Chat plugin app can now go away.  I implemented a Google Talk reader directly into A2DP Volume instead.  This is much simpler as it uses a broadcast listener and some URI's  to capture and parse the messages.  That means you just have to have Google Talk signed in and active for it to work.  I would like to test it some more before pushing to the Play Store.  2.9.1 is available for download on the Google Code page here: http://code.google.com/p/a2dpvolume/downloads.
Make sure you download the latest release as it is still in test.  Please test it and let me know any comments, bad and good. 

Monday, December 24, 2012

Work in IM integration starting again

I implemented a message receiver in A2DP Volume version 2.9.0 and up (not yet released).  I documented it here: http://code.google.com/p/a2dpvolume/wiki/Interfaces.  I also tested it with some test code in A2DP Volume Chat.  Now other apps can use this interface to alert via text-to-stream while a device is connected.  So far I got the A2DP Volume changes working and tested.  Now I need to get A2DP Volume Chat working.  I am having trouble with receiving IM messages.  It can send but not receive.   Ironic since it does not even need to send IM's.  I also have issues with instability with A2DP Volume Chat so far.  It will connect to the server and log in the user fine.  Sometimes however, it seems to randomly crash right when the app initially starts or shortly after login. It's very inconsistent and works most of the time.  I am leveraging a hacked version of Smack for the IM client and I suspect there are gremlins in there.  I may need to get more creative and instead make my own XMPP implementation.  I hate to do that if it is not completely necessary though.  Anyone want to help out? 

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Replaced ugly icons

My daughter finally had it with my ugly icons and made all new ones for A2DP Volume and A2DP Connect.  I had found those old icon parts on a quick web search and then rescaled them.  This left JPG noise and shadow effects in therm.  Bottom line: they were terrible. She created new ones from scratch.  I also had not optimized them properly for various screens.  This bloated the app and added negative value in terms of icon quality.  Removing all the extra graphics, and a few other improvements found my Android Lint resulted in 55kb reduction in the APK file. 

Here is the latest snapshot from the Play Store developer console






A2DP Connect has only been out a few days.  I will leave the Android 2.1 version of A2DP Volume out there a bit longer but it will eventually be retired. 

Friday, December 14, 2012

A2DP Connect now on Play Store

I just posted the first functional version of A2DP Connect to the Play Store.  This simple widget lets you connect and disconnect A2DP devices from the home screen.  One simple clock to switch states.

http://code.google.com/p/a2dp-connect/

A2DP Volume exceeded 60,000 installed a few days ago.